SUNY Oneonta News

ONEONTA, N.Y. -- Hundreds of alumni, their families, and friends of SUNY Oneonta will return to campus for Reunion Weekend 2011 from Friday, June 3, through Sunday, June 5. In addition to gatherings, events, and athletic competitions, the College’s Alumni Association will present its annual awards in recognition of outstanding contributions to the college.

Friday’s events include golf and tennis tournaments, a boat tour of Otsego Lake, a show in the college’s digital planetarium, a clambake, and a poetry slam with special guest and award winning poet, alumna Kristen Tomanocy of the Class of 2011.

On Saturday at 10:30 a.m., a reception will honor the 50th Reunion Class of 1961 as well as the recipients of the Annual Alumni Award and Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) Alumni Awards. The morning will also feature the Alumni Association’s annual meeting and an exhibit of materials from the Milne Library’s archives and special collections by Librarian Heather Heyduk.

The Reunion Weekend barbecue, catered by Brooks, will kick off an afternoon full of activities. The alumni art exhibit, coordinated by Tim Sheesley of the Class of 1977, will be featured in the Fine Arts Building from 1-3 p.m. The Educational Opportunity Program Alumni Steering Committee will host a meeting at 1:30 p.m., and a friendly card tournament at 3 p.m. in the Hunt College Union will benefit the EOP Alumni Scholarship Fund.

Receptions to honor alumni of specific years or decades, donors, and special-interest groups will be held throughout the weekend. Sunday morning will feature a bon-voyage champagne brunch from 9-11 a.m. and a second showing of the alumni art exhibit from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

The 2010 Annual Alumni Awards will honor the following recipients at the Saturday morning reception:

Yasir Ansari ’08, a graduate student and graduate assistant in the Residence Life office at Southeast Missouri State University, will receive the Outstanding Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion Award.

Patricia Buckley ’67, former executive director of the Sustainability Institute in Charleston, South Carolina, will receive the Distinguished Alumna/Alumnus Award.

Ronan Downs ’78, host of the annual New York City Alumni New Year’s Social, will receive the Excellence in Alumni Service Award.

Patricia A. Driskell-Simmons ’74, member of the executive board of the NAACP branch in Spring Valley, New York, will receive the Outstanding EOP Alumna Award.

Dr. Frances Scelsi Hess ’65, who has been honored with a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching from the Kennedy Center, will receive the Distinguished Alumna/Alumnus Award.

Thomas Kane ’83, senior vice president of human resources for Armstrong World Industries, will receive the Distinguished Alumna/Alumnus Award.

Reginald Q. Knight, M.D. ’74, founding board member of Tabor 100, an organization of African-American business-people committed to developing economic and educational excellence and social equity, will receive the Outstanding EOP Alumnus Award.

Reunion Weekend 2010 is open to all alumni and friends of the College at Oneonta, as well as to members of the community. Some events require advance registration. More information is available on the web at www.oneontaalumni.com or from the Office of Alumni Affairs at (607) 436-2526.

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For more information about the College, please call the Community Relations Office at (607) 436-2748 or send e-mail to Hal Legg, Director of Communications.